A response from the LDN Complaint Department

Tuesday night we received a post on the Lebanon Daily News Facebook page that got my attention. I haven’t included the author’s name because it’s immaterial to the concerns voiced and covers a variety of individual complaints that we occasionally receive.

I’m pleased that our commenter made the effort to speak up. We always appreciate feedback from our readers – regardless of whether we agree or disagree, like or dislike what they have to say. Here’s what was shared:

“As much as I hate to say this, it is a LD News associated page/thread, but really would it make a difference? I have seen in my 32 years, the once decent Lebanon Daily News go from a readable newspaper into little more than a advertising circular. I remember a time not so long ago that the DAILY paper was nearly as big as the current sunday paper. I realize it costs money to print, publish and distribute, but given the SAME prices and massivly diminished content is it really even a viable entitity anymore? Also whoever the schmuck was that came up with the idea to charge people to read it online needs to be fired. Sure everything costs money, but in a world when I can read however much I want online from all of the major local papers, why in the world would a stripped down, barebones newspaper decide to publish online with a subscription model?!?”

Whew. That’s quite a lot of ground to cover, but let me make an attempt.

Let’s start with some facts. Since the post came on Tuesday, January 24, we’ll examine that one as a “random sample.” On Tuesday, the Daily News was 18 pages (about average in terms of our daily page count). Editorial content took up 68% of the space; advertising accounted for 32%. This ratio is something we consider and measure on a daily basis. I typically prefer a higher percentage of advertising.

After reviewing our editorial content, I came up with 63 stories or photos that our staff produced for the print edition. The majority of this information would never be available to our community if we weren’t reporting it. Not too shabby when you consider that we have a staff of 8 reporters, 6 editors and 2 photographers.

When you factor in the national stories, columns, obituaries, letters to the editor, comics, lottery numbers, horoscope, games, puzzles and advertising (because lots of our readers are interested in that content too), that’s a lot of stuff for just 50 cents on the newsstand. For value, it sure beats the $1.05 for the cup of coffee that’s sitting on my desk right now.

The Daily News has cost 50 cents on the newsstand for more than a decade. Few products can make that claim. Most of those that can, like us, have made the size of their product smaller – and even then, many have raised the price slightly. Don’t believe me? Go buy a roll of toilet paper and compare its size to the roller that it sits on. You’ll notice that the roller is about an inch bigger than the roll. And it costs more.

The Daily News does have fewer pages than we did 10 years ago. Declines in advertising revenue have played a factor, as has the cost of doing business. Another major reason is the Internet. As more and more people use it to consume news, their needs and desires have changed. Everyone wants more, and everyone wants it now. The printed product has limitations – the first of which is the instant gratification that news consumers demand.

That’s why LDN has invested heavily in our digital news-gathering and distribution during the past few years and continues to do so. Our readers want more; a better website with breaking news, timely and updated information and more stories, photos and video; access to our content via mobile devices and user-friendly apps; active social media posts and updates with the ability for greater interaction with our staff. We have provided it and are continually working to upgrade each component of our digital platforms. It’s where our future lies.

In our print product, readers won’t find some of the world and national news as they did in the past. Why? Because so much of it is readily available from other sources. We’ve chosen to focus on what we do best – report on the news, events and people of the Lebanon Valley. There is no other news organization anywhere that does what we do. And we do it every day, 24/7.. The amount of local coverage found in the Lebanon Daily News easily matches the amount there was ten years ago. I double-checked with Paul Baker, our managing editor and a 33 year LDN veteran, and he confirmed this is true. Paul’s about as honest of a guy as I know. If it wasn’t true, he wouldn’t say it (and he’d be telling me what’s missing).

So why have we moved to a subscription model for our online content? It was a business decision. We didn’t feel it was reasonable for our print readers to underwrite all of our digital operations any longer – particularly since so much is being invested to communicate with and provide even more information for our digital audience. Many newspapers around the country have made the same decision. You won’t find the hyper-local content about the Lebanon Valley anywhere else – and for $1.99 per month, it, too, is a better value than that (now cold) cup of coffee sitting on my desk.

There is still plenty of debate about the online subscription model – from our corporate offices, to our local newsroom, to our readers’ homes. Is it the best solution? That’s a matter of opinion, but we feel it’s the correct decision at this point.

Readers can still get lots of news for “free” via our mobile apps and our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages. It really comes down to which format each individual reader prefers.

A subject upon which there is far less debate is whether the Daily News is a viable entity anymore. While we are not without our challenges (but what business isn’t), LDN is thriving. Our dedicated and experienced staff is reporting the news to more people than we ever have in our history in more formats than we could have imagined a decade earlier. Our print advertising revenue has declined, but our digital business is growing rapidly due to the variety of new platforms and strategies we can now offer to our advertisers.

If the Daily News tried to be what we were years ago, we’d be a part of history. We are changing the way in which we do business, with an emphasis on new digital platforms. That focus will ensure the Lebanon Valley will have its own news organization to share its local stories with the world for a long time.